Blue Light Therapy, Explained

Red and blue light therapy have been occupying a lot of attention in the beauty world of late. Blue light therapy, in particular, is often recommended for people struggling with acne-related conditions and sun damage. What is it, and what does it do? Today the SolaWave team took a closer look.

You may also be familiar with the notion that ‘blue light’ from your screens can interrupt sleep cycles. It can also be used as a non-invasive alternative way to treat skin conditions that lie on, or just under, the skin’s surface, and has even shown some potential in the fight against skin cancer. Blue light treatment literally involves bathing the skin in this particular light frequency in a controlled fashion, through target application.

Blue light therapy research has been under development since the turn of the century, with the bulk of currently available research accelerating since the 90s. It builds on an even large body of work around light therapy. 

How does blue light therapy work? It’s important to realize that the skin can absorb and respond to different frequencies of light in different ways. You may know of the damage UV rays can do to the skin. Blue light is a friendly name for a different spectrum of light, which can help promote healing instead of tissue damage, and works by penetrating the very surface of the skin and acting on the cell structures there.

What is blue light therapy used for? It shows great potential to help with a wide variety of skin conditions, but let’s take a closer look at some common concerns.

Blue light for acne is perhaps the most common use of blue light treatment today. It has been shown to have skin regenerative capabilities, alongside the potential to soothe the overproduction of sebum in your oil glands. Coupled with the ability to zap acne-forming bacteria, it has a valuable place in any acne treatment. 

While red light therapy for rosacea appears to be the most effective, adding some blue light to your treatment regime may carry additional benefits. It brings the same acne-fighting properties to the table, calming sebum overproduction which can further aggravate the condition. It has also been suggested that it can help surface lesions from rosacea heal faster. 

Blue light therapy is not typically used for wrinkles. Instead, you are best served by looking at red light therapy, or a combination device, for anti-aging purposes. Blue light does, however, have some potential to help repair sun damage, which can contribute to the look of aging skin.

What are the benefits of blue light therapy? We’ve already looked at some key blue light benefits up above, but let's dive into the properties that make this a strong skin treatment in more depth. 

By far the best way to prevent skin cancer is, of course, practicing safe sun habits. But for those of us already facing a skin cancer diagnosis, blue light may have a role to play in treatment. Combined with a specific photo-sensitizing drug, it can help kill cancer cells without damage to the surrounding healthy cells. Needless to say, if this sounds like a therapy for you, it should always be performed under a doctor’s eye. A home blue light for face device will not help in this aspect.

One of the things that makes blue light therapy so appealing is that it works non-invasively, without the need for lengthy downtime or special preparation and long recovery. This gives it fantastic potential as a treatment.

Are you ready to try blue light therapy at home? SolaWave is proud to offer a range of exciting in-home light therapy alternatives you can try for better skin. If you’re hoping to harness some of the potential advantages of blue light therapyfrom the comfort of your couch, why not get hold of the SolaWave team today?